Dawning
by Lady Fran
Summary: [AU Kataang][DEAD] Aang doesn't remember anything about his past. When he meets Katara, he is given new hope, and with her help, sheds new light on the subject. But some secrets should remain hidden...
1. Name

**Chapter One: Name**

Right now, I'll tell every one of you people who have me on the "Author Alert" list: THIS IS A KATAANG! Yep, you heard me right! It's a Kataang- Katara/Aang for those of you who've been living under a rock. No, for the last time, this isn't a Zutara!

Okay, now that I've got that out of the way:

Disclaimer: I don't own "Avatar: The Last Airbender". You can sue me, but all you'll get is a stupid bird that will give you a heart attack from it's screaming.

_

* * *

All I could feel was the fire around me. It was too hot, too intense. I couldn't see as my vision was clouded by smoke. I coughed and spluttered to get it out of my lungs._

_A hand grabbed me. I saw a flash of blue, then a ponytail. It was Sokka. I tried to call out his name, to ask where mom and dad were, but no sound came out. He pulled me along the snow-covered road, all the way down to main tent. I marveled at the way he walked, with so much power. He was only nine- just a year older than me._

_Then I realized that his hand was shaking. He was scared just like me. In the front, I saw dad. He was leading a pack of men. The smoke was clearing here and I could see many people getting into fighting stances. Mothers hurried their children into tents while fathers and other men took out their weapons or a whip of water._

_"W-w-what's going on?" I managed to choke out. The air was much better here. Sokka shook his head._

_"I don't know, but we have to get out."_

* * *

Katara stared down at her table. All wood, all brown. At her wooden bowl, the green piece of cloth, the leafy colored chopsticks. That was it. All green and brown. Sure, Katara loved the earth, but, really, to have it cover every square inch of your surroundings?

Sighing, she pushed her chair away. She missed her artic home. The cool wind, the penguin riding days, the water. Everything about the South Pole made her want to go home again. But ever since the Fire Nation had attacked, her family had been forced to move to the Earth Kingdom. Right now, they were staying with her cousin. No, there was no way they were related. The families were exact opposites.

They were messy and disorganized. Besides her brother, Sokka, neatness ran in the family. They were lazy. Sure, Sokka had his lazy moments, but he was also very determined. They gave up too easily. For the Kingdom that was fighting the ruthless Fire Nation, they seemed very boring. Luckily, her cousin's mom and dad were gone on to another town to trade the hog monkey bones for some of the town's crops. They would be back in a few days.

"Orko, pass the leechi nuts please," asked Sokka. Katara knew how much effort it took Sokka to say that. He hated the teenager just as much, or even more than Katara. The arrogant teenager, Orko, lazily reached over and pushed the bowl towards her brother.

Katara had been shocked when she realized who her cousin was. Lazy, stubborn and just a plain jerk. Sure, Katara had thought that they could have gotten along, but that was a month ago. Right now, she was determined to rid herself of this creep.

"Katara, you haven't touched your plate yet this evening," said her dad. Katara shook her head.

"I guess I'm just not hungry," replied Katara, getting ready to get up. Her dad smiled.

"Well, I've got a surprise for you! Guess what it is." When Katara didn't answer, he said, "You know how this house is starting to get more and more messy. Since none of you want to clean it, I've gotten a slave for us."

If Katara had had food in her mouth, she would have choked to death. A _slave_? You mean those people who are captured, shipped from their homes, and forced to work for no pay? That was horrible! Katara could never picture herself hiring her slave. She had never pictured her own family cold-hearted enough to do that either.

"That's great! Now we can finally have a decent meal, cause Katara can't cook for her life!" answered Orko, laughing. Katara sent him a death-glare, but before she could come up with a taunt of her own, Sokka butted in.

"Are you sure about this dad? I've heard that slaves could run away. Their not very reliable," said Sokka, swallowing a handful of the nuts. Ever since the attack on their tribe, Sokka had been more and more paranoid. Even though he acted like a normal teenager- lazy, self-centered, he was much more than that. And even though he bossed her around, Katara knew he meant the best for the whole family.

"Where could they run away? There are miles of forest on each side," replied her dad. This was true. For some reason, Orko's family had decided to live in the middle of a dense forest. To hide from the Fire Nation, he had told her.

"That's right," responded Orko. For a while, no one said anything. Katara's dad looked at her.

"Well, what do you think Katara? Doesn't seem like a fine idea?" asked her dad. She wanted to tell him that, no, it was terrible. So many people are hurt like that. But the look on her dad's face was so hopeful, she could only smile weakly.

There was a knock on the door. Her father walked over to open it. Katara followed and saw a strange man dressed in all black. There was nothing unusual about him, just that he seemed a bit mysterious, and very paranoid. Whatever the reason, Katara didn't know and didn't care about.

"Sir, I'm here with the slave." The person reached behind him, and pushed forward a small boy.

Katara's eyes rested on him, and she felt a strange pity. He couldn't be more than her age, probably younger. He looked so innocent, and yet his eyes… They were a stormy gray and reflected pain and suffering. Katara wondered how much the boy had been through in his short lifetime.

Her father frowned. "I though I asked for a girl. I need someone to cook and clean the house. All a boy can do is work on the farm. As you can see, we don't exactly have a farm."

The person hurried to correct his mistake, "Well, he can do many things. And he's at a good age, around 13. Not too young and not too old."

Her father sighed. "Very well. What's your name?"

The boy didn't respond to her father. He didn't even look up or anything. He just stared into nothingness. After a while, his lips parted, but no sound came out.

"Speak up. What's your name?" her father asked again. The boy didn't make a sound even though the person in black smacked him roughly on the head.

"This is your new master. You obey him!" the person yelled.

"He's probably a mute," Katara said quickly, hoping the person wouldn't hurt the boy again. He was so young. Katara's dad nodded and reached for a piece of parchment and a brush. He dipped it in some ink and handed it over to the boy.

The stranger looked down, but again, didn't respond. Her father's patience was going to run out soon. Katara questioned where the boy came from. He probably originated in some foreign land where they had no scrolls or anything that she was used to. Judging from his strange clothing, she could tell that he came from a long way.

Finally, the boy took the paper hesitantly. Slowly, he wrote out the word. After a while, he handed it back to Katara's dad. In neat, flowing letters, the boy had written his name:

"Aang".

* * *

I'm new to Kataang, so anyone's who's read this, please tell me how I did. And if you Zutara lovers want to flame this, please don't. I know you want me to get my Zutaras updated, but just wait! If you want to compliment, go ahead. I'd love that so much! And I just wanna tell you, I've held back on creating this story for 3 months now. I really wanted to get BD finished. Yup, that's how much I love you guys.

As you can tell, I'm writing about the darker side of Aang. Sorry, but there won't be any fun-loving, animal-riding, getting-into-trouble Aang in this story. No, I don't see Aang as just a kid, but someone with a very deep past that needs to be explore more. So that's how my story's going.

Has anyone noticed a similarity between Orko and Jet? Ha! Yea, Orko was based on Jet. I was originally going to make it Jet, but I just couldn't stand that idea! It's like… UGH!


	2. Fallen Angel

**Chapter Two: Fallen Angel**

Disclaimer: I'll be a hog-monkey's uncle!

* * *

_And now you're just another fallen angel  
And I hope that the fall didn't do you no harm  
And now you're just another fallen angel  
Falling into somebody else's arms_

- Fallen Angel by D. Wagner

Katara's dad had left, on a trip, he had told her. When she asked how long he would be gone, he shrugged and told her he would come back as soon as possible.

That left the teens alone in the house.

* * *

From the moment he entered, the poor kid was being tortured.

"Hey, where did you come from? Kangaroo Island?" said Orko, laughing hysterically. He pointed at Aang's clothes. Katara had to admit- his outerwear was a bit outrageous. Such bright hues of orange and red. She was sure that no one had seen someone like this for a century.

"And what about those tattoos? Are you trying to act all tough, huh?" asked Orko. Katara made a face, clearly annoyed at Orko's attitude. She looked around for her brother, but he wasn't around. Her eyes glanced the boy who the taunts were aimed at.

The kid only stared back at Orko, until the point where the teenager stopped laughing, clearly annoyed at the apathy mood of the boy. Katara couldn't help but smirk: someone had shown Orko who was boss, without even trying!

"Come on, I'll show you where you'll stay," she said, placing a hand on Aang's shoulder and guiding him out the back door. In reality, she wasn't really sure where he was to sleep. It was just an excuse to get her away from Orko before she exploded with laughter from his expression.

Katara's dad had said something about a separate house, just a few yards due north. Katara walked along, being careful not to step in the many dents that filled the ground after the two male teens constant wresting games. She had a fleeting thought that Sokka hadn't really seen the sport as a game, but had played it as an excuse to get back at the teenager. Of course she had to pretend she did like Orko, but, secretly, she wished that one day, Sokka could just beat the crap out of the guy.

As Katara neared the woods, she saw a small little house, no, more like a pile of logs. She smiled; pulling back the thin blanket that covered the only opening, obviously meant for a door. Ducking her head so that she would fit under the roof, she led the boy in. His short height made it possible for him to stand up straight without hitting the ceiling, but just barely.

Katara couldn't help but grimace at the surrounding. Although their family wasn't exactly rich, they still had plenty. Well, at least enough to live satisfactorily. Katara squinted to make out the surroundings in the dim light. It was just after sunset- Katara's family ate early. She made out a few small figures- a wooden bed, another blanket, and a small stool. Aang's new house reminded her of a prison cell.

The boy didn't seem to mind too much, and Katara wasn't going to be the first one to ruin the moment.

"So, you like your new home?" she asked. The boy looked at her, and shrugged. Katara resisted sighing. If the boy was really mute, having a conversation could prove to be a real challenge.

"Where'd you come from?" she questioned, not expecting much of an answer. Aang pointed up. At first, Katara though that he had mistaken her question, but after a few moments, she knew that this was his answer. She chuckled a bit, putting her hand over her mouth to avoid laughing outright. Up?

Aang stared at her, confused as to why she found this to be funny. But Katara didn't see the look on the boy's face, and her laughter continued. After a while, she finally gained control over herself, and quieted down. The small boy's expression hadn't changed. She smiled at him sympathetically. He must have been really confused, what with the sudden events of the day. She decided to play along.

"Well, I guess you're a little angel now," she said.

* * *

" Hey Aang, you know anything about cooking?" asked Sokka. Katara pouted. Her cooking was just fine!

The boy shook his head. Sokka sighed. For some reason, Sokka and Orko had a sport of making fun of Katara's cooking. Well, at least they agreed on something.

Katara realized that the boy hadn't eaten anything since he arrived. He must have been hungry. She looked at the kitchen table, but to her disappointment, there wasn't even a scrap left. She took the lid of a basket, and found it to be full of leechi nuts. She took a handful, and held it out for Aang.

He stared at it, before realizing it was for him. He gratefully took it in his hands, nodding. Katara smiled.

* * *

"So how old are you?" she asked on the way back to Aang's house. Of course the boy didn't need an escort, but Katara had insisted just incase Aang lost his way there in the dark.

The boy turned to her, holding up a one finger, and with the other hand, two. Katara's eyebrows raised, surprised by his young age.

"Only twelve? How come you're all alone now? What happened to your parents?" she asked. A second later, she regretted saying those things. The boy's head had dropped, eyes lowered to the ground to avoid contact. Katara's heart broke for him. She placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that. I guess your past is your privacy," she said. Aang walked on. Katara followed behind him. After just seeing the house once, he had remembered the exact location. He pulled back the blanket, stepping in, followed by Katara.

She knew that she should have been going now, but she couldn't help but feel sorry for the boy. First Orko, and now she had to drive his spirit down.

"It's a bit dark in here, isn't it?" she asked. "You know what, I'll get a candle for you." Without waiting for his reply, she rushed back into the house.

Sokka said something about going to sleep and that it was really late, but Katara ignored that. Fumbling around with the match, she finally got it to light up, and took out a candle. Using the light, she guided herself back to Aang.

She placed the candle on the stool, after finding no other place to put it. At first, she thought against placing something burning in a wooden house, but decided that it would be safe. The candle stood upright, and Aang wouldn't go and knock it down.

The candle illuminated the boy's eyes for a split second. Katara happened to glance up at that time, and suddenly wished she hadn't. It was just filled with so much pain and anger; she thought that no boy could contain it. But just like that, it was gone in a flash.

Katara got up, checking once again on the boy. He was lying down now, ready to sleep. "Good night," she whispered. She saw him nod, and pulled back the blanket covering the door.

Through the door, Aang saw her disappeared by the moonlight.

* * *

Happy New Year everyone!

So, what did you think of this chapter? I want your honest opinion! Any suggestions, comments, flames?


	3. Silence

**Chapter Three: Silence**

Disclaimer: If I owned Avatar, the world would be in dictator control, where everyone's forced to eat applesauce all day.

* * *

The fire from the candle flickered before his eyes, casting shadows across the room. But these shadows weren't real. They were just illusions.

Aang closed his eyes.

Everything was just an illusion. Everything. The world was just a lie.

So why was he still here? Why was he still living this lie?

Aang sighed.

His whole past had just been an illusion. It was so real, so real. He turned away from the candle. His past. His past life. It had been perfect.

But it was all fake. It was all wrong. Nothing could last forever.

So why was he still here?

* * *

The candle was bothering him now.

It was still dark outside, and the moon had probably just reached it peak.

But Aang couldn't just close his eyes and go to sleep. It wasn't that easy. Because if he let the luxury of sleep take him, he would lose consciousness. And that just allow his to lose control.

And he couldn't do that. Not now.

Aang stared at the fire. Flickering higher, higher, then lower.

It seemed so calm right now, so tame. But in a blink of an eye, it could turn deadly, turn into a lose monster and destroy everything.

Like it destroyed his life.

But that didn't matter anymore. He couldn't even remember his past. Everything was so blurry and a illusion.

But it had been perfect compared to his state now.

Casually, he waved his hand, and a stream of air came from it, blowing out the fire. And just like that, everything went dark.

* * *

Katara gently knocked on the wooden wall of Aang's cabin. No response. She knocked again, this time a bit louder. No response again.

Katara placed her hands on her hips, clearly annoyed. The boy had seemed nice yesterday, and he hadn't been the one to be rude. But you never know.

She pulled back the covering of the door. She blinked, her eyes adjusting to the dimmed light of the cabin.

"Aang, you have to…" Katara stopped, realizing the boy wasn't here right now. She crossed her hands over her chest, her annoyance increasing. So she shows some kindness to him, and he decides to just go off like that?

Katara turned towards the door, ready to tell Sokka what happened, and gasped as she saw Aang by the doorway. He stared back. Katara brain registered what happened, and she took a deep breath.

"Aang! You scared me!" she said, a hand covering her heart. The boy smiled slightly and apologetically. Katara's heartbeat slowed a bit, enough for her to take the boy by the hand and lead him back to the house.

* * *

"What do you mean he can't cook?" demanded Orko, slamming a fist down onto the table. Katara's chopsticks rattled.

"I told you, he doesn't know. Unless you want to try to teach him!" Sokka answered, angry with the boy. The two had never been morning people.

"He's supposed to know! We paid good money for that slave!" Orko shouted back. Katara's clenched her fist. That was it.

"Shut up!" she screamed, standing up abruptly. The two teenagers stopped their bickering, and glanced up at her. "What's wrong with my cooking?"

Aang stared at the group, an amused expression crossing his face. So this was what happened in the house. It reminded what it was like to have a family. Suddenly, his expression darkened, and he pushed that thought away.

Orko burst out laughing, "Your cooking? Really Katara. That food could wake the dead!" Katara clenched her jaws, fighting back the urge to just pound on the boy. Orko ignored her, and returned back to the original topic.

"That man who delivered him said he knew things like farming and all that. So why not cooking?" Orko said, pointing to Aang.

"Look, I'm sure he can do other things. We can have him do other stuff," said Sokka, also sick of the bickering.

"Stupid slave. Can't even cook," said Orko, poking at the rice.

* * *

But Orko wasn't going to give up right there. He wanted to put Aang to good use.

"Hey you! We're running low on firewood! Go and chop some up, and fast!" Orko shouted to the boy, before shoving him out the door. "And Katara, make sure he does that!" He reached over to shove her out the door, before she shoved him back. She turned away, marching out the door with her basket and an ax, leaving an angry Orko lying on the floor.

* * *

"Okay, I've got an ax for you. All you have to do is just swing it like this," Katara said, picking up the said ax and swinging towards the tree. Aang watched attentively, fascinated at how wood chippings fell off each time the ax hit the tree, leaving a yellow scar. "Just do this a couple of times, and the tree will fall."

She handed the ax to Aang, who surprised at its heavy weight, but soon got over it, examining the weapon. Katara chuckled. "Just don't stare at it too long, you've got to get the trees chopped before Orko really gets mad. I'll check on you later, okay? I've got to get some fish from the river."

* * *

Katara glanced back at Aang one last time, satisfied that he was taking a swing at the tree, before heading off in her direction. After stepping over some rocks and pushing aside low branches, she heard the gentle rustle of the water.

Katara smiled, taking in the scene. Although she came her almost everyday, she still was amazed at the beauty of the river. It was one thing that the Fire Nation didn't destroy.

Katara walked over, gazing into the clear water, laughing at how her reflection wiggled back at her. She picked up both hands, holding them to chest level, before concentrating on her bending. Soon, a bubble had formed in the water. Raising up her arms, Katara watched as the bubble rose, with a fish trapped inside.

Katara smiled, dropping the fish into her basket.

The easy part of her chores was done. Now all she had to do was cook it.

* * *

Aang soon got tired of the ax, finding it tedious and redundant. It took much too much effort to swing it back and forth, and he hadn't even chopped down a tree yet. He wiped the sweat off his brows, casting the ax aside.

And then he smiled. Time to do chopping his way.

Airbending.

Aang jumped up, turning a full circle in the air, bringing his arms back. As he landed, he spun his body around, and a sharp gust flew through the air. He lowered his hands, taking a deep breath.

Before him the trees were neatly cut down, and all stacked in front of him.

Aang brought his hands to the ground, bring them up rapidly, slicing the trees vertically. His hands went to his sides, before running back the opposite direction, chopping the strips down even further horizontally.

* * *

Katara picked up her basket, something that had gained considerable weight since she came to the river. She walked through the shrubbery once more, before stopping at the spot that she had left the kid.

She smiled, pleased that the wood was cut, and surprised that he had finished so early. Her suspicion grew as she examined the pile. It was cut just too neatly; it couldn't have been an ax. And was it just her, or were the leaves all in one area, not scattered around enough? And the axe was way too far away from the pile.

She called out to Aang, before hesitating, realizing he wasn't here.

Katara groaned, vowing to give the boy a lecture when she found him. He couldn't just run off like that.

She placed her basket down, crossing her arms over her chest. The branches rustled overhead, and she looked up, wary of who was there. She opened her mouth to call out, before someone interrupted her.

"Hey little guy. Where did you come from?"

Katara paused, searching frantically. This was new.

No one in her family had a voice like that. It had a twist of childhood innocence, soft and curious. And yet, it was dark and foreboding at the same time, as if the speaker had been stripped of all things good at an age too young. And it was calm, quiet.

Katara's eyes scanned the treetops, looking for anyone there. She knew that she should run home, and away from strangers, but she was just too curious.

Suddenly, she saw a bright flash of red and orange, flying from one tree to the next. There was only one person she knew that wore those colors

"Aang?"

* * *

Aang sat from a branch, observing his new friend. It was a lemur. Somehow, the creature seemed familiar, as if he had seen it before. But Aang couldn't remember.

The creature purred, head cocking to one side as if to better observe the boy. The boy smiled, reaching a hand out, gently placing it on the animal's head. The lemur didn't flinch; it just sat there as if it knew that Aang wouldn't hurt it.

"Hey little guy. Where did you come from?" he asked. The animal seemed to think that it had stayed long enough, and spread out its wings. Before Aang could stop it, he jumped off the branch, before gliding to the other. Aang jumped from his, landing exactly where the lemur had stopped, grabbing it.

"Aang?"

The boy froze, hearing that voice. He had completely forgotten why he was in the forest due to the animal.

"Aang? Are you there?" came the voice again. Aang hesitated, wanting to stay in the forest forever. This was him- free, wild. He couldn't go back to those people again.

The boy sighed, knowing what he had to do.

* * *

Katara scanned the trees yet again, before her eyes landed on an autumn-colored figure nestled on a branch. She called to him again, wondering how he got that high. He must have been a good climber.

"Hold on Aang, I'll get you a ladder," Katara called, turning the opposite direction. But he had already jumped off the tree.

Katara gasped, frozen in time as she watched the kid fall down.

_He's going to die! It's at least 30 feet!_

_Don't just stand there, do something!_

But Katara couldn't move. She could only watch as he pummeled down, falling faster and faster.

Before a gust of air blew her back a few feet. She covered her eyes to avoid dirt blowing into it. When she removed her hands, she was shocked to find the boy standing her in one piece.

_What, how? That's impossible!_

Katara ran over as soon as she recovered from her shock. "Aang! Are you alright! I say you up in the trees, and you jumped down, and I thought you were just going to die! But you didn't because something happened and this big gust and-"

Aang cut her off. "I'm fine, Katara."

Katara took a deep breath, letting out the air, trying to calm her self, before something hit her. "Wait, you can talk?"

Aang's pupil's widened, realizing he had revealed his secret. He shook his head, rapidly, trying to cover his mistake, but it was too late.

"Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't you say anything?" Katara asked. Aang sighed, looking down, avoiding eye contact. After an eternity's worth of silence, the boy finally spoke.

"Because I didn't have anything to say."

* * *

I know, I'm MAJORLY late! I am so sorry, but you know, end of semester- tests, presentations, papers, all that.

As you can already tell, I do LOVE dark Aang. He's awesome when he's all angst-y, isn't he?


	4. AUTHOR'S NOTE!

This is all my fault.

I repeat, ALL MY FAULT.

I have given you nothing but broken promises, nothing but a fleeting strand of hope that I broke and cut away like so much else.

Dawning is dead.

This is all my fault. You readers have been nothing but perfection, everything that I could have hoped for. You were the best. Every chapter you would flood me with praise that I am not worthy of, and encouragement that I greedily accepted. You helped me write, you were my soul, you were my heart.

There was nothing wrong with you, it was with me.

I just lost the inspiration. I ADORE Kataang, and always will for it is my true love. But I just can't seem to be able to sit and write a series. It's just not happening. I've tried 3 chapters, and they all turned out like crap.

As I write this, tears are coming to my eyes for I feel so obliged to you to write more, but I simply can't. I don't want to disappoint you, so I must stop. This story will be deleted in a week.

Again, this is entirely my fault, and I will not object to bombardments of flames because I deserve them so badly.

I will continue to write Kataang one-shots for I love Kataang and always will.

Please, please, please forgive me.

Always yours, Lady Fran


End file.
